Soram village clash pre-planned; happened after announcement from mosque: Balyan

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A day after a clash between supporters of the BJP and the RLD here in his presence, Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan on Tuesday alleged that it was pre-planned by leaders of the opposition party and they were instigated by an announcement made through a mosque.

Three to four people were injured on Monday during the clash at Soram village where Balyan had gone to pay homage to a deceased local.

The clash broke out following an argument between the two sides, according to police.

Soram village in Muzaffarnagar district of western Uttar Pradesh is the headquarters of the "sarv khap", which holds influence among farmers and locals in the region.

Balyan, the Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry and the local MP, told PTI he has urged the local authorities to probe the clash.

RLD supremo Ajit Singh on Tuesday also visited Soram village to meet those injured in the incident.

"Those involved in the clash were not farmers but office-bearers of the RLD. It was a pre-planned clash, otherwise, how can you explain videos of the incident going out on social media instantly or tweet coming from an RLD leader instantly," Balyan alleged.

Talking about Monday's incident, Balyan said, "I had gone to Soram village to attend the mourning of a local and it was a moment of grief but RLD office-bearers stared raising slogans and they were instigated by an announcement made from a local mosque. The entire incident was pre-planned."

Western Uttar Pradesh from where Balyan hails has been witnessing a number of farmers' "mahapanchayats" amid the protest against the Centre's three farm laws.

In the wake of these "mahapanchayts" in western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the BJP's top brass had last week held a meeting with leaders from the two regions and asked them to reach out to people in their constituencies to counter the narrative against the three contentious legislations related to agriculture.